Research makes the case for extending home insulation scheme

New research makes the case for
extending home insulation scheme Two new health reports identifying damp housing
as one of the root causes of child illness is further
evidence of the need to extend the successful Warm Up New
Zealand insulation scheme, Green Party Co-leader Metiria
Turei said today.

“Getting adequate insulation
into kiwi homes isn’t a ‘nice to have’; it is a health
priority,” Mrs Turei said

“New research released
from the University of Canterbury links poor home heating to
increased asthma hospital admissions.

“This comes
on the back of a report yesterday linking rheumatic fever to
damp housing.

“New Zealand has one of the highest
asthma and rheumatic fever rates among developed countries.
Home insulation can play a big part in reducing those
rates.

“The Warm up New Zealand: Heat Smart
programme was negotiated by the Greens as part of our
Memorandum of Understanding with National. It has been a
success, insulating 200,000 kiwi homes to date. It has
created $1.3billion of benefits, mainly in better child
health but these reports show there is more to do.

``Now is the time to ensure the insulation scheme
continues and has the opportunity to broaden its reach. We
hope the Government extends funding for the scheme in the
upcoming budget

“Improving conditions inside kiwi
homes for the kids that need it most is a priority.
Extending the scheme is a common sense way to reduce rates
of rheumatic fever and asthma, Mrs Turei said.

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